Frank McKeever

THE remains of a man beaten to death may never be found even after his killers have been convicted.

Detectives have drawn a blank in the search for Frank McKeever but even without finding his body, his step-daughter Surie Suksiri and her boyfriend Juned Sheikh were found guilty of murder on Tuesday.

Officers are desperate for one of them to tell them where he is, or for anybody else with information to step forward. They have searched the West Reservoir near Finsbury Park, the New River Path, and beside a Welford Truck stop in Northampton.

The murder squad also followed a lead in Lutterworth in Leicestershire without any luck.

The 63-year-old became the source of a ­missing person’s inquiry when he vanished in August 2021.

The last sighting of Mr McKeever was in a CCTV clip walking along Highbury Park, close to Highbury Grange.

This investigation later became a murder inquiry and police said Ms Suksiri had told another person that they had “battered the fxxx out of him and disposed of the body “eighty miles” outside of the London.

Juned Sheikh and Surie Suksiri

According to police, Ms Suksiri told a witness last year that she had killed Mr McKeever because he had abused her as a child.

The Old Bailey was told that on the night it is believed Mr McKeever died, she had texted a video to Mr Sheikh’s sister which appeared to show him saying that he deserved to be punished.

The police checked their records and could find no formal allegations were ever made him and said there was no evidence was found to support the abuse claim.

The investigation found that Ms Suksiri had taken £200 worth of Mr McKeever’s jewellery to a pawnbroker. They believe this was to pay for a cheap car to move the body from her flat in Highbury.

Detective Inspector Laura Nelson, who led the investigation, said: “Whilst today’s verdict has delivered justice for Frank McKeever, the result is bittersweet for his family. They have not been able to bury their much-missed brother and the main question of where he is remains unanswered.”

She added: “My team will continue to act on any information which may lead to the location of Frank and the charity Crimestoppers continues to offer a reward for information leading to his whereabouts.”

The last sighting of Mr McKeever before he was murdered by his stepdaughter and her boyfriend

Mr McKeever’s bank account had not been touched since August 2021, neither had his phone. Police had made a series of appeals for help, including in the pages of the Tribune.

Ms Suksiri had talked about the killing with somebody who went on to provide witness evidence.

Police said this information led “detectives to believe Frank had suffered a prolonged and cruel attack that had happened when he visited Suksiri and Sheikh at their flat on August 28 2021”.

When he first went missing, she had told police searching for him that she had not seen him in 20 years.

Jurors had been told earlier in the Old Bailey trial that during interviews, Ms Suskiri had said she knew Mr McKeever had died in her flat, but did not know how.

She had later suggested that while she did not kill him she had helped her boyfriend dump the body by the side of a motorway.

Then giving evidence in court, she said she had assaulted Mr McKeever but that Mr Sheikh had been the main attacker.

Mr Sheikh did not give evidence during the trial, while Ms Suksiri spoke via videolink.

Both are now due to be sentenced on November 20 for murder and preventing a lawful burial.

DI Nelson said earlier in the search for his body: “Mr McKeever had lost contact with his family for a while, and he’d just started to rebuild those relationships and everything was looking really positive for the family.

“Everybody was happy and reuniting. To then lose him again so suddenly, it’s been really hard hitting for them.”

Anyone with information that could assist officers in finding Frank’s body are asked to contact the investigation team by calling 020 8358 0300